Saturday, August 11, 2012

Jonathan Stewart Extended

RB Jonathan Stewart has been extended, signing a 5 year extension, states Carolina staffers.

The deal, with Stewart facing his final year, likely stretches bonus money over six years.

I don't have any numbers at this point, but I would anticipate it nears Deangelo Williams' 5 year, $43 million deal. I can't imagine that Stewart's worth any less than Williams, but if they got him done for less, bravo. Recently Ray Rice signed for 5 years, $40 million; Matt Forte signed for 4 years, $32 million.

Carolina had cap space - $8.5 million - coming into the year. I anticipated that this could've been one of the ways to spend that reserve. Stewart's 5 year, $14 million rookie deal was set to expire in a year. He was to count about $2.5 million total. I anticipate that Carolina will break up the bonus amount into this year and next year, if it's more than $15 million (and I'd anticipate it is).